Gordon M. Pradl

Gordon M. Pradl

New York University, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development

Professor of English Education

Phone: 998 5460
Email: gmp1@nyu.edu

• Teaching and Learning
• Teaching and Learning

After receiving his EdD from Harvard University in 1971, Gordon Pradl came to NYU as a professor of English Education, now part of the Department of Teaching and Learning. While he has taught at the graduate level for many years, Pradl is currently teaching freshmen, which he finds a revitalizing experience. "Freshmen are very interesting to work with," he says, "because they bring a lot of energy into the classroom environment and they are readily open to new ideas." Pradl appreciates those open to new ideas. Throughout his career at NYU he has been committed to innovative teacher education. He conceived the School of Education's English Education Summer Study Abroad Program because he wanted to provide professional practitioners with a chance to get their doctorate. "But I wanted to do this creatively, by making the familiar strange." Pradl thought that if students from the States went to England to study English education, they would see "that it was taught just differently enough to call into question assumptions about how they thought it should be taught." Pradl is proud of the success of the program, currently in its 28th year. "Because of it, there are now NYU graduates in important positions throughout the country who are contributing to the education of a new generation of English teachers." Pradl also helped revitalize the Department's masters programs when New York State revised its teacher certification requirements. "When the new guidelines were established, we used them as an opportunity to creatively rethink our English education curricula in order to better educate future teachers." According to Pradl, two basic components are necessary for preparing exceptional English teachers. "First, a background in reading literature and composition. Students should have authority as readers and writers." The other component is giving the students time in front of a class. "Peer teaching makes for a powerful transition to student teaching. When a student teacher moves back and forth between the student and teacher roles, she gains real insight into the needs of both." "Above all" says Pradl, "I want students to have confidence in their ability to have their own ideas and make their own interpretations, instead of simply waiting for the teacher to have the correct answer or give the assignment." That's why, he says, the teachers in the Department are constantly looking at English Education with a sense of discovery. "The Department has always been a kind of think tank for new ideas about education," says Pradl. "I hope we can continue to ask ourselves how we can pass forward what's important philosophically about the Department's version of English Education, while we grapple with recent trends of the ever-evolving literacy environment."